Of That Tender Age
by Jaxberry
Summary: All seemed to be going well for Lizzie while ballroom dancing with her fiance...until strange pains in her torso cause her to come to an embarassing realization. To be fair, Ciel-per Sebastian-certainly isn't spared from any awkwardness either!
1. To Truly Be a Lady

**Warnings**: Rated T for language and discussion of mild sexual topics (body changes, puberty, and etcetera).

**Disclaimer**: Black Butler/Kuroshitsuji manga and characters are © Yana Toboso, (2006-present). Anime adaptation is directed © by Shinohara Toshiya and produced © by A-1 Pictures (2008).

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><p><strong>Of That Tender Age<strong>

**Chapter 1: To Truly Be a "Lady"  
><strong>

It was during the evening of a mid-April's day that the young Earl Phantomhive was doing business, as usual, but not as the Queen's Guard Dog….nope. In fact, he could have done whatever he wanted to for that day without question, but no. His fiancée decided to stop and visit him. The mission for the rest of the evening  
>happened to be one of the few things that gave Her Majesty's Guard Dog qualms—learning to ballroom dance.<p>

"And to the left, to the right….seems Lady Elizabeth has this down perfectly….bravo! Now, Ciel, are you even listening to me? You're doing it all wrong. " Sebastian reprimanded while shaking his head. The suave butler took reprieve on his violin solo, causing both heads of the young couple to snap in his general direction. "If you'll excuse me, Lady Elizabeth, it seems I need to have a word with your fiancé."

"Um, okay." Lizzy anxiously replied. Her anxiety had nothing to do with Ciel's embarrassing dancing moves, however…..

Sebastian silently beckoned the young Earl to come closer. Ciel's eyebrow twitched as he released his grip on Lizzy's hand and waist. He opened his mouth to utter a few words of protest but Sebastian swiftly cut him off: "I understand you have little desire to further your finesse in dance, but I can assure you that it is most proper to at least have basic enough skill so the lady can enjoy herself."

Ciel glared at Sebastian. _You are supposed to be my servant, not my superior, dammit! _"My fiancée seems to be enjoying herself just fine. If you found it unpleasant to dance with me you'd tell me, right Elizabeth?"

Though only a millisecond time-span, the turn of Ciel's head gave Lizzy a chance to smile back in reassurance. She was anything _but_ sure of what was currently happening. When Ciel resumed his futile bickering with Sebastian, she felt another ache in her torso and furrowed her brows in disdain. In her mind she had a few ideas….but which of those thoughts, she wondered, was correct? Hoping it was the former idea, that of indigestion, Lizzy mentally checked off her meals for the day. Breakfast consisted of a small amount of Danish pastry and tea; of lunch she consumed a perfectly ripe pear with an egg salad sandwich (courtesy of Sebastian upon her request. _Such plebeian pleasures for a noble_, Sebastian thought at the time!) Everything seemed to be fresh and delicious in taste. In fact, she would have liked more to eat that day, but her corset protested. _Oh, no_. If it wasn't the former….

Lizzy took her absentminded gaze off the floor and looked into the eyes of her fiancé. So engaged with her thoughts had she been that she failed to realize Sebastian was engaged in a mock-ballroom dance with Ciel for practice, and he had apparently taken on the role of the lady. Both men paused mid-stride, and Lizzy giggled. _If only we had a photographer here to take pictures of us_, she mused. Glaring, Ciel instantly prompted the young girl to silence her giggling. She cleared her throat. "C-Ciel….if you'll pardon me, I think I need to leave for a little bit. But I promise I'll be right back."

Ciel appeared relieved—probably for the break. "Okay. To the restroom, I assume? Sebastian, the toilet in the bathroom closest to this room is needing repair. Please show her to the next nearest one."

Lizzy felt both relief and panic. She knew she needed to find the sole female maid of the Phantomhive manor, Mey-Rin, first, and Sebastian usually knew of the other less-adept servants' whereabouts. Would her asking him become obvious, however, as to her situation? It was only natural, this she knew. Her mother, while usually too busy and brisk to delight in long conversations with Lizzy, had given her a talk about "becoming a lady". This happened shortly after her personal servant-in-arms and best friend, Paula, commented on Lizzy's becomingly curvy figure.

Sebastian stretched out his arm to escort the young Lady and responded to Ciel: "Yes, my Lord."

Lizzy's face immediately became hot as the clarity of the present returned. "S-Sebastian." she shyly murmured.

The devilishly (pun-intended) handsome butler leaned down so he could talk face-to-face with the much smaller girl. "Yes, my Lady?" he crooned.

His nose was only inches away from hers. The pace of her heart quickened, and for a moment she nearly forgot what she was meaning to ask him. "Before you show me to the powder room, I would like to speak t-"

"Mey-Rin?" Sebastian interjected.

The hair stood up on the back of Lizzy's neck. "Y-yes, how—"

Too late, he already had disappeared. Lizzy stood in the luxurious hallways and rubbed the back of her neck in utter astonishment. A few minutes later, the heels of the clumsy, red-haired servant could be heard.

"Oy, Lizzy!" Mey-Rin shouted across the hall in her strange brogue. "What do you need, meh dear?" when she was only a few paces away she halted abruptly and curtsied.

Lizzy took notice of her recently stained-black apron (perhaps she mistakenly polished the stair banisters with the Earl's shoe polish again?) _Maybe she wouldn't be the best person to ask_, Lizzy second-guessed herself. But it was too late now, and she wouldn't dare speak to a male about this matter.

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><p>Meanwhile, from inside the manor's kitchen the Phantomhive manor's chef, Bardroy, was snooping—both visually and aurally—through a crack in the wall from a recent explosion of a failed meal. Hey, nothing better for him to do while he waited for his sauce to heat.<p>

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><p>"Mey-Rin," Lizzy cupped a hand to the maid's ear and whispered non-audibly, "I…think<p>

I started my monthlies."

"Whoaaat was that, dear? Speak up!" Mey-Rin made a noticeable gesture of cupping her hand to her ear.

"I….think I'm officially a woman now," Lizzy euphemized._ Phew_. A restful silence ensued as the maid contemplated the meaning of her rather shady statement.

"_OHHHH WEE_! Little Lady Elizabeth's a WOMAN!" Mey-Rin's voice had broken the after-pause of Lizzy's confession like random flatulence during a solemn church service. Arms flew around Lizzie and squeezed tightly. "Aww, how sweet, yes! Y'know, if you bled anywhere on the floor I can clea—"

"Oh, Mey-Rin, please keep it down! And there is _no need_ for that!" Lizzy's face instantly reddened.

"I am v-v-very sorry, Miss Elizabeth, oh yes I am! I sometimes get overexcited, ya know?" Mey-Rin bowed her head in apology. "Anyway, I have some stuff you'll probably need." she took Lizzy's small hands and tugged. "Come with me!"

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><p>Bardroy's face turned as red as the piece of rare beef he was chopping up and his cigarette flew from his mouth. The smoldering end struck his thumb.<p>

"OHHH_ SHIT_!"

The door to the kitchen opened abruptly and hit the wall, and Sebastian slinked inside. "Watch your language when the Lady is here."

Bardroy flinched. _Damn, that butler knows and hears everything_! "Haha….ahhh….sorry about that." he began to laugh drunkenly from the pain in his finger.

Sebastian pulled a handkerchief and bandaging tape seemingly out of nowhere, as he usually does with most objects, and gave them to the injured chef.

"Th-thanks….anyway, Mey-Rin needs to learn to lower her voice some as well. Squealing like some pig about…girly bodily matters of some sort. Not that it's scandalous….I mean, they are women….I'm not bothered by what's only natural, of course….but what if we had other company around? "

"Oh?" Sebastian lifted the word in pitch slightly to feign surprise. It was obvious to the butler that Bardroy wasn't angry, but prudishly disgusted by bodily matters. Since when did he ever show concern about the etiquette of his fellow servant? _Precisely_.

Sebastian continued: "…I gathered that. I was having a talk with my young Master about his poor dancing abilities when the Lady grabbed her stomach. She is of that tender age, you kn-"

"Grah! Yes, I know! I really need to get back to my work now, so I can't listen much longer!" flustered, Bardroy shoved Sebastian in the direction of the kitchen door. On a normal day, the proud butler would have admonished someone for being so bold, but seeing the grown man flip over such a trivial thing in life was pleasing to him. Bardroy hastily waved, "Goodbye!"

_Dead giveaway you silly wimp_, Sebastian snickered as he turned on his heels.

Bardroy placed a hand on the demon's shoulder and cocked his head to the side. "Say….have you given Master Ciel "the talk" yet? He himself is, as you put it, 'of that age' too."

Knowing perfectly that he was capable of doing so—but wishing to inflict a more sadistic approach on his young Master instead, just for kicks and giggles—the butler replied, "No, and I don't plan to. Although I know someone who has tremendous knowledge and experience in giving explanations of these sort of matters."

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><p><em>Author's Notes<em>: Hohoho...Sebastian is such a troll. I resisted the urge to put "U MAD, BRO?" at one point when he talked to Ciel and instead put more formal and Victorianesque language instead. If I did put memes and other modern phrases in here, then I would have listed this under a parody.

I'll give you one guess as to who Sebastian is taking Ciel to see...


	2. Class Has Begun!

**Chapter 2: Class Has Begun!**

The day after his soiree with Lizzy, Ciel found himself sitting next to Sebastian in a horse-drawn carriage that Tanaka was leading. "Where in the world are you taking me? And what does this have to do with Lizzy having to leave early yesterday?"

The butler folded his hands in his lap and smiled. _Oh, the fun I have tormenting you_, he delightfully mused. "Remember the time I sat down with you and explained some of the changes you would and are going through currently, such as growing hair in odd places?"

Ciel stared down at his crotch and flushed. "…Yes."

_Oh, dear God_….he knew where this was going. "Someone else is….going to talk to me about…women?"

Sebastian smiled and his wine-colored pupils glimmered. "_Maybe_," he taunted. "Not that I don't know a thing or two about women," he deviously squinted his eyes, "but knowing how demanding you are in finding swift and accurate explanations, I feel …that a certain someone _else_ would be a more appropriate teacher."

Ciel bit his lip impatiently and folded his arms. He closed his eyes and sighed…

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><p>After what seemed like days being jostled around in the back of the carriage, an exhausted Ciel felt his butler's gloved hand rustle his shoulder. The gentle vibrations of the carriage wheels had lulled him to sleep.<p>

"Mrgnn…how long was I out for?" An uncontrollable yawn was released from the boy's mouth.

Whinnies from the horses and the halting of the carriage whipped the young Earl back into clarity of the current situation—and his previously disgruntled mood. Sebastian twisted the brass handle and gently propped the door for Ciel's exit. "Come along," he chided.

"Oh BLOODY HELL. You've got to be joking with me!" Ciel hissed as the opaque London fog cleared the path in front of him, allowing him shocking clarity and closure as to where he was to be instructed and who was doing the lecturing.

Sebastian feigned the look of a child scorned. "Master…why would I be joking? That_ hurts_."

Ciel grew tight-lipped at the impish façade his butler displayed.

"Of _all_ of our connections this one would at least keep quiet about the less-than-royal changes that you yourself are going through as well."

Ciel pondered the repercussions of a loose mouth telling the grand populace of London about him and Lizzy's journey into adolescence, and shuddered. "I…I will give you thanks upon that point," Ciel admitted reluctantly.

"Well young Master, you know what to do when you would like me to return."

"What…you're not coming with me?" Ciel's lower lip quivered. "You never leave me!"

Sebastian only winked mischievously and closed the door of the carriage.

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><p><em>BANGBANGBANG.<em>

Ciel loudly rapped on the ramshackle oaken door in front of him. A quiet fit of Tenor-range laughter was then heard.

The door was then opened, and flurries of dust and who-knows-what-else-that-may-have-expired floated outwards from the eerie mortuary. Ciel sneezed into his sleeve and glared up at the looming Undertaker.

"Why, hello there…_Earl Phantomhiiive_. Hehehehehe!"

Clearly, he was excited about this opportunity, much to Ciel's disgust.

He ran to the center of the room where a dusty red, floor cushion lay, and hastily plopped himself into it with his legs crossed. "Come on in and sit on my brand new coffin….it is a glorious shade of blue, I might say. Suits you perfectly."

Ciel darted his eyes to the left and the right to see if an actual chair was available. Just his luck…

After Ciel flopped down on the coffin, Undertaker queried: "What might you be doing visiting me during such _ghastly_ weather?"

Ciel's expression remained neutral with the slight tint of ennui. "You know exactly why I'm here—of course Sebastian would have told you." he then yawned theatrically. "I'm not going to have to pay for this, am I? I am not in the mood to humor you."

"Wh-what? Hahahaha…AHAHAHA!" Undertaker threw his head back, sending both his hair and the Earl backwards amidst roaring laughter. The eccentric mortician then halted mid-laughter, but the grin remained on his porcelain face.

"Heheh, no payment needed for today, Earl. The circumstances of what brings you here for…heehee…are enough." The Undertaker pushed himself off of the floor cushion and lifted the plump pillow to reveal a jar of his favorite bone-shaped cookies. "There're some tea bags over there too," he pointed a slender digit to a silver table of which purpose Ciel did not wish to know it served, "though I cannot for the _death_ of me find the kettle or cups. I shall return." He disappeared into the shadowy abyss of a curtain which separated the main entrance from the back of his abode.

Ciel felt a sense of relief when Undertaker left the room. The truth was—although he would never tell Sebastian this—that he was indeed curious about these sorts of things, and he was tired of feeling ostracized by the older Nobles when certain "jokes" were being told. He felt a shiver run down his spine. Was he actually feeling….._grateful_ for this lesson? He mentally slapped himself. _Nonsense._ Nothing could ever be satisfying to him.

After what felt like half an hour, Undertaker's back erupted from behind the dark purple curtain which separated his main office from what Ciel assumed to be a storage room for the bodies of the deceased. He was lumbering backwards toward the center of the room with a slanted and rolling contraption of some sort, covered with a white sheet. He stopped and let the covered display stand upright in front of Ciel, and pinched a corner of the fabric.

"Class has begun! It's time to see some pretty pictures…heehee, okay, here's the deal. For easy access I was going to bring just one body…but, I figured it would be a shame if I kept you too sheltered from this corrupted world, young Early, so I brought 3, each of different ages."

Ciel gulped.

"We'll get to that later. For now….let's talk about reproductive organs! You know what comprises a female womb, don't you, Ciel?"

Ciel paused and nodded his head slowly, having a vivid flashback to the Jack the Ripper case involving the murdered and "incomplete" prostitutes months ago.

"It carries babies! Good! Now from what Sebastian has told me, your fiancée Lady Elizabeth was experiencing a few changes to her…heh…womb, which caused her to leave suddenly."

Ciel's face went pale.

"Anyway, in order to carry a child…females, usually between the ages of 14 to 17, go through a series of repeated monthly cycles," he reached behind the white sheet, "within…"

He suddenly reached behind the white curtain…

"…their ovaries!" and held out a fluid-filled jar. A wrongly labeled one.

Ciels face turned as blue as his hair in utter horror and disgust as he watched the detached scrotum of some deceased bloke float around inside the jar.

Undertaker looked down at his jar and realized his mistake, apologizing with "Oh my…I seemed to have grabbed the male variant." and scrambling to replace the container behind the white cover sheet. "I think it's this one with—"

"Please, Undertaker." Ciel defiantly rose off of his coffin. "I don't want this to take all night! Sebastian has to make me tea before I fall asleep!" he whined, not realizing how lame he sounded.

Undertaker's lower lip stuck out in a pout. "You're no fun at all! Fine. If you insist I will spare you the wonders of the visuals of actual human body parts. BUT—"he stuck his scraggly finger in the air, "I'll just have to make sure I give you extra details. Maybe I should even throw in a quiz at the end….just kidding!"

Oh, one of the many times Ciel wished he could've stuck his foot in his mouth.

"As I was saying, women go through cycles, young Earl. Once a month for around a week they bleed out of what's called their vagina, and have to use what's called a sanitary towel to absorb the blood flow. "

Ciel scrunched his nose. "That's…absolutely disgusting."

Undertaker grinned. "Well, without "menstruation" you and the little Lady Elizabeth wouldn't be able to think about having pretty babies someday, it's that important. That also reminds me, us men go through something similar."

"We bleed out of our penis?" Ciel gasped.

Undertaker buried his face in his hands, trying to conceal his laughter. For the first and last time in his life, he muttered "_God save the Queen_…" and his session reached the end…_four hours later._

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><p><em>Author's Notes<em>: Pff, so I lied. Well, not really. I originally planned for this story to end at two chapters, but I have a couple of ideas to choose from that will serve as a third (and possibly fourth!) chapter.

To extrapolate on a few of the facts Undertaker mentioned…14 to 17 might sound late for an average menarche age (nowadays the range is anywhere from 9 to 16), but for the Victorian era—even among wealthier women who had much abundance of food and better health—normal onset of menstruation was more common in the mid-late teens. Women from lower socio-economic households sometimes never had a period until their twenties because of poor health and lack of nutritional foods. In addition—because of strict Victorian customs on what was "modest" and because many women who were of childbearing age were either pregnant or nursing—periods were also not as commonly discussed.

….I know so many weird trivia facts….moving along now.


End file.
